Athletics at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Men's discus throw

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Men's discus throw
at the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad
Venue Stade de France, Paris, France
Date
  • 5 August 2024 (qualification)
    7 August 2024 (final)
Winning distance70.00 OR
Medalists
Gold medal icon.svg Rojé Stona Flag of Jamaica.svg  Jamaica
Silver medal icon.svg Mykolas Alekna Flag of Lithuania.svg  Lithuania
Bronze medal icon.svg Matthew Denny Flag of Australia.svg  Australia
  2020
2028  

The men's discus throw at the 2024 Summer Olympics was held in Paris, France, on 5 and 7 August 2024.

Summary

At 21 years old, Mykolas Alekna set a new discus throw world record with a distance of 74.35 m (243 ft 11 in) during a competition in Ramona, Oklahoma. His performance included three throws exceeding 72 meters and all six surpassing 70 meters, making it one of the most consistent series in the sport’s history. This achievement put him in contention to surpass the Olympic Record of 69.89 meters, set in 2004 by his father, Virgilijus Alekna.

In recent years, Mykolas Alekna had earned silver and bronze medals at the World Championships. The competition featured several prominent athletes, including Daniel Ståhl, the defending champion and 2023 Gold Medalist; Lukas Weißhaidinger, the returning bronze medalist; Kristjan Čeh, the 2022 World Champion and 2023 silver medalist; and Andrius Gudžius, the 2022 bronze medalist. Alex Rose, ranked second on the world list for the season and the eleventh-best performer in history, also competed, [1] [2] while Ståhl and Čeh shared the fifth-best performance in history.

In the final, Kristjan Čeh, the second thrower in the order, recorded 67.27 meters. Matt Denny followed with 66.89 meters, and Andrius Gudžius threw 66.45 meters. Alekna then took the lead with his first throw. In the second round, Alekna improved with a throw of 68.42 meters but was overtaken by Denny, who threw 69.31 meters. Alekna regained the lead by breaking his father’s Olympic Record with a throw of 69.97 meters, surpassing the previous mark by eight centimeters.

Rojé Stona was the only competitor among the leaders to improve in the third round, throwing 66.16 meters to move into seventh place and secure three additional attempts. In the fourth round, Stona threw 70.00 meters (229 feet 7 inches), surpassing Alekna’s mark by three centimeters and becoming the first athlete to reach the 70-meter mark in a windless, enclosed stadium. Despite Alekna making three more attempts to reclaim the lead, Stona’s throw remained unmatched, securing his victory. [3]

Background

The men's discus throw has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since the inaugural edition in 1896. This was the 30th time that the event was contested at the Summer Olympics.

Records

Prior Records

Prior to this competition, the existing world, Olympic, and area records are as follows.

Global records before the 2024 Summer Olympics
RecordAthlete (Nation)Distance (m)LocationDate
World record Flag of Lithuania.svg  Mykolas Alekna  (LIT)74.35 [4] Ramona, United States14 April 2024
Olympic record Flag of Lithuania.svg  Virgilijus Alekna  (LIT)69.89 Athens, Greece23 August 2004
World leadingFlag of Lithuania.svg  Mykolas Alekna  (LIT)74.35 [5] Ramona, United States14 April 2024
Area records before the 2024 Summer Olympics [6]
Area RecordAthlete (Nation)Distance (m)
Africa ( records )Flag of South Africa.svg  Frantz Kruger  (RSA)70.32
Asia ( records )Flag of Iran.svg  Ehsan Hadadi  (IRI)69.32
Europe ( records )Flag of Lithuania.svg  Mykolas Alekna  (LIT)74.35 WR
North, Central America

and Caribbean ( records )

Flag of the United States.svg  Ben Plucknett  (USA)71.32
Oceania ( records )Flag of Samoa.svg  Alex Rose  (SAM)71.48
South America ( records )Flag of Colombia.svg  Mauricio Ortega  (COL)70.29

Olympic Record broken

Virgilijus Alekna's 20-year Olympic record of 69.89 meters, set in Athens 2004, was broken twice at in the finals — first by his son Mykolas with a throw of 69.97 meters, and then by Rojé Stona with a throw of 70.00 meters. [7]


RecordAthlete (Nation)Distance (m)Attempt
Olympic RecordFlag of Lithuania.svg  Mykolas Alekna  (LIT)69.972
Olympic record Flag of Jamaica.svg  Rojé Stona  (JAM)70.004


Qualification

For the men's discus throw event, the qualification period was between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2024. 32 athletes were able to qualify for the event, with a maximum of three athletes per nation, by throwing the entry standard of 67.20 m or further or by their World Athletics Ranking for this event. [8] [9]

Results

Qualification

The qualification was held on 5 August, starting at 10:10 (UTC+2) for Group A and 11:35 (UTC+2) for Group B in the morning. 32 athletes qualified for the first round by qualification time or world ranking. [10]

RankGroupAthleteNation123DistanceNotes
1A Mykolas Alekna Flag of Lithuania.svg  Lithuania x67.4767.47 Q
2A Matthew Denny Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 64.2766.8366.83 Q
3A Lukas Weißhaidinger Flag of Austria.svg  Austria 66.7266.72 Q
4B Clemens Prüfer Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 66.3666.36 Q
5A Traves Smikle Flag of Jamaica.svg  Jamaica 59.1865.9165.91 q
6B Rojé Stona Flag of Jamaica.svg  Jamaica x65.3263.3065.32 q
7A Ralford Mullings Flag of Jamaica.svg  Jamaica 65.18xx65.18 q
8A Daniel Ståhl Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 65.1663.3663.9865.16 q
9B Kristjan Čeh Civil Ensign of Slovenia.svg  Slovenia x64.8064.5664.80 q
10B Andrius Gudžius Flag of Lithuania.svg  Lithuania 60.8364.0764.07 q
11B Alin Firfirică Flag of Romania.svg  Romania 61.98x63.6663.66 q
12B Alex Rose Flag of Samoa.svg  Samoa 62.88x60.9462.88 q
13B Connor Bell Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 59.7662.88x62.88
14A Sam Mattis Flag of the United States.svg  United States 62.66xx62.66
15B Philip Milanov Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 60.28x62.4462.44
16A Martin Marković Civil ensign of Croatia.svg  Croatia 61.2262.3161.6262.31
17A Andrew Evans Flag of the United States.svg  United States 60.15x62.2562.25
18A Mauricio Ortega Flag of Colombia.svg  Colombia x61.6561.9761.97
19A Lolassonn Djouhan Flag of France.svg  France 61.9361.72x61.93
20A Nicholas Percy Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 59.8761.8158.8961.81
21B Miká Sosna Flag of Germany.svg  Germany xx61.8161.81
22B Joseph Brown Flag of the United States.svg  United States x61.68x61.68
23A Francois Prinsloo Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa 51.6461.35x61.35
24B Lawrence Okoye Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 61.1760.40x61.17
25B Juan José Caicedo Flag of Ecuador.svg  Ecuador 60.9960.44x60.99
26A Mario Díaz Flag of Cuba (3-2).svg  Cuba 60.0560.9259.6360.92
27B Victor Hogan Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa x60.1160.7860.78
28A Martynas Alekna Flag of Lithuania.svg  Lithuania 58.3457.5358.6658.66
29B Tom Reux Flag of France.svg  France x56.8858.2258.22
A Henrik Janssen Flag of Germany.svg  Germany xxx NM
B Oussama Khennoussi Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria xxx NM
B Claudio Romero Flag of Chile.svg  Chile xxx NM

[11]

Final

The final was held on 7 August, starting at 20:25 (UTC+2) in the evening. [10]

All three medalists posted some of the longest throws in Olympic history, surpassing Virgilijus Alekna's 69.89 meters (Athens 2004) and 69.3 meters (Sydney 2000), and Lars Riedel's 69.4 meters (Atlanta 1996). [12]


RankAthleteNation123456DistanceNotes
Gold medal icon.svg Rojé Stona Flag of Jamaica.svg  Jamaica 61.6665.2066.1670.00xx70.00 OR, PB
Silver medal icon.svg Mykolas Alekna Flag of Lithuania.svg  Lithuania 68.5569.97x68.8868.49x69.97
Bronze medal icon.svg Matthew Denny Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 66.8969.3168.39x69.1566.4469.31
4 Kristjan Čeh Civil Ensign of Slovenia.svg  Slovenia 67.2768.41x66.3666.34x68.41
5 Lukas Weißhaidinger Flag of Austria.svg  Austria 60.0267.5464.52x64.43x67.54
6 Clemens Prüfer Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 65.7965.5865.5867.41xx67.41
7 Daniel Ståhl Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 64.9766.9564.0666.00xx66.95
8 Andrius Gudžius Flag of Lithuania.svg  Lithuania 66.4565.02xxx66.5566.55
9 Ralford Mullings Flag of Jamaica.svg  Jamaica 65.61xxDid not advance65.61
10 Traves Smikle Flag of Jamaica.svg  Jamaica 63.7764.1164.97Did not advance64.97
11 Alin Firfirică Flag of Romania.svg  Romania 64.4563.0062.84Did not advance64.45
12 Alex Rose Flag of Samoa.svg  Samoa 60.0761.89xDid not advance61.89

[13]

References

  1. "Men's Discus Throw - Final extended start list" (PDF). Olympics. 7 August 2024. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  2. "Discus Throw - men - senior - all - 2024".
  3. "Men's Discus Throw - Final results" (PDF). Olympics. 7 August 2024. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
  4. "All time Top lists – Senior – Discus throw men", World Athletics , 29 June 2024. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  5. "Season Top Lists – Senior 2024 – Discus throw men", World Athletics , 2024. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  6. "Records – Discus throw men". World Athletics . 3 July 2024. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  7. McCarvel, Nick (2024-08-07). "Paris 2024 Athletics Men's Discus Throw: All Results as Roje Stona Wins the Gold Medal".
  8. Sean McAlister, "How to qualify for athletics at Paris 2024. The Olympics qualification system explained", Olympics.com , 20 December 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  9. "Road To | World Athletics". worldathletics.org. Retrieved 2024-07-07.
  10. 1 2 "Paris 2024 - Olympic Schedule - Athletics", Olympics.com . Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  11. "Men's Discus Throw - Qualification results" (PDF). Olympics. 5 August 2024. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
  12. "History of Olympic Results: Discus Throw – Men" . Retrieved 2024-08-07.
  13. "Men's Discus Throw - Final results" (PDF). Olympics. 7 August 2024. Retrieved 7 August 2024.